Blago Update
| Tue Dec. 9, 2008 11:04 AM PST
BLAGO UPDATE....Thanks partly to this being a slow news day and partly to the sheer juiciness of the whole thing, the blogosphere is ablaze with chatter about the arrest of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges. Main theme: the guy has been under investigation for three years by the same prosecutor who convicted both Scooter Libby and the previous governor of Illinois, but he was merrily blathering away to friends anyway about selling off Barack Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder? What kind of fucking moron is this guy?
Other, slightly more substantive comments from around the 'sphere:
Who are the six possible candidates for Obama's senate seat mentioned in the idictment? Adam Serwer tries to track them down.
It wasn't just senate seats in play! Blago also told the Tribune Company that he wouldn't approve any state financial assistance for their effort to sell the Chicago Cubs unless they fired some editorial board members who had been critical of him. Apparently Blagojevich told the Tribune Company's representative, "our recommendation is fire all those [expletive] people, get 'em the [expletive] out of there and get us some editorial support."
Is Barack Obama implicated in any of this? At a press conference today, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said no: "I should be clear that the complaint makes no allegations whatsoever about the president-elect or his conduct." What's more, the indictment quotes Blagojevich telling a friend that he wasn't willing to appoint Obama's favored candidate to the Senate because "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them."
Still, Time's Michael Scherer thinks this is going to be a problem for Obama anyway: "The President of the United States has a higher burden than just about any elected official anywhere. His staff will be called on by the press to account for all their conversations with Blagojevich and his aides. Obama will have to explain what he knew about these discussions." Etc. My guess is different: I think Obama will be so open about this, and so obviously uninvolved, that it won't cause him any pain whatsoever. It's an Illinois story, not an Obama story.
My colleage Jonathan Stein runs down the corruption record of Illinois governors since 1973. It's not pretty.
Bizarrely enough, despite his 4% approval rating and ongoing corruption investigation, Blago seriously considered appointing himself to Obama's open senate seat because he thought it would a good launching pad for a 2016 presidential run. The mind reels.
Anyway, that's your Blago roundup for the morning. More, much much more, to come later, I'm sure.
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Comments
Don't you think it's a little disrespectful to refer to the Governor of Illinois as Blago? It should be Governor Blagojevich or upon second reference, Mr. Blagojevich. This is the kind of institutionalized disrespect that I have grown to expect from the Tribune Company.
He's the Governor of the [expletive] state of [expletive] Illinois. Not all of us got our names converted by the [expletive] syllable police at [expletive] Ellis Island.
"Bizarrely enough, despite his 4% approval rating and ongoing corruption investigation, Blago seriously considered appointing himself to Obama's open senate seat because he thought it would a good launching pad for a 2016 presidential run."
This guys is about as connected with reality as Sarah Palin is.
What was Illinois thinking when they elected Stephen King's evil brother?
Nevermind electing him. Splain me *reelecting* him. I say this as an Illinoisan.
Anyway, whatever you may think of this whole thing, it's pretty clear that Tommy Franks was wrong about Doug Feith.
My guess is different: I think Obama will be so open about this, and so obviously uninvolved, that it won't cause him any pain whatsoever. It's an Illinois story, not an Obama story.
I'm with you Kevin. The right will obviously TRY and use this scandalette to hurt the new president, but there's no there there. Also, people -- even lots of conservatives I suspect -- WANT him to succeed. Nothing like the threat of a pink slip to concentrate the mind on what's important...
There is a rumor floating around that team Obama threw Blogo under the bus. In any event the indictment makes it very clear that Obama wouldn't play ball.
Based on everything that has appeared so far Obama comes out of this looking squeaky clean.
BTW, the price of the senate seat has now gone up. I'd now like a . . . He'd now like a commutation, the preservation of the Governor's pension, and/or a CEO position at a too big to fail institution for his [expletive] wife.
And how come I keep getting [expletive] censored while Drum gets to use the [expletive] [expletive] word.
Submitted by Eric Ferguson (not verified) on Tue Dec. 9, 2008 12:08 PM PST.
Of course this will be an ongoing headache for Obama. The right won't even give up on disproving his citizenship. No way they'll be convinced Obama wasn't behind everything Blagojevich did. This will be a core part of the continuing campaign to destroy Obama.
Again, from the Times:
According to the criminal complaint, while talking on the telephone about the Senate seat replacement with his chief of staff and an adviser, Mr. Blagojevich said he needed to consider his family and their financial struggles. "I want to make money," he said, according to prosecutors. He then added, they allege, that he wanted to make $250,000 to $300,000 a year.
How truly fucking stupid do you have to be to think that, as the former Gov. of a state as big as IL, you have to go to these lengths for such a relatively small sum? The very nature of his job has him dealing with movers & shakers in the business world every blessed day that he wakes up, and the least risky way he can think to ensure his financial well-being after government is this? This story is the gift that keeps on giving.
Submitted by Neil B ☺ (not verified) on Tue Dec. 9, 2008 12:23 PM PST.
Kevin, you realize that all your minimalization of this w.r.t. Obama won't stop the Rightosphere from using it against him - what Jasper said! So, what's the best defense to run?
Submitted by Noah (not verified) on Tue Dec. 9, 2008 12:45 PM PST.
Man, how were you able to write this post without making the xkcd/blagosphere reference?
Submitted by ethan salto (not verified) on Tue Dec. 9, 2008 1:00 PM PST.
This guys is about as connected with reality as Sarah Palin is.
CRETINS YOU CAN BELIEVE IN
Palin-Blago 2012 !!
At this point this may even play well for Obama. These days the public probably wouldn't bat an eyelash if it turned out Obama was mixed up in this--it confirms everything they already think about politicians. If it becomes clearer that Obama took the high road, people will be saying "Wow, maybe this change guy is for real."
After years of systemic and systematic, fundamental, corporate, blur-all-the-lines, government-for-sale, Republican corruption, this Blagojevich story is somehow refreshing. Just a hustling guy trying to shake down people for some coin. It makes me nostalgic for the politics of old.
Submitted by Steve Sailer (not verified) on Tue Dec. 9, 2008 5:25 PM PST.
C'mon Obama endorsed Blago for re-election in 2006 when everybody knew Blago was a crook. And Blago and Obama have a close friend in common: Tony Rezko. Obama played ball for years with Blago, Rezko, Daley, Jones, the whole gang. He did nothing to stop the corruption in Illinois, unlike the guy used to hold his Senate seat, Republican Peter Fitzgerald, who brought pit bull prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald (no relation) to town to put Republican governor George Ryan in jail. Obama never did anything to fight corruption. He played ball with all the bad guys so he could get power for himself, because he loves power more than even Mrs. Obama loves money.
"The President of the United States has a higher burden than just about any elected official...
His burden may be heavy. It is not high. Standards can be high, but not burdens. Lawyers mix these metaphors all the time, and now apparently it's spreading outside the legal world.
